The availability of methods for treatment of hazardous wastes is limited. Conventional methods for disposal of hazardous wastes, such as incineration, can also contaminate the environment. For example, incomplete combustion of hazardous wastes typically causes release of pollutants to the atmosphere in the form of gases and dust. Liquid hazardous wastes, in particular, are difficult to dispose of by conventional methods because the amount of suitable space which is available for burial of such wastes is rapidly diminishing. Further, liquid wastes often leak from disposal sites, generally diminishing the quality of life in surrounding populations.
One alternative attempt to treat hazardous wastes includes their destruction in a reactor containing a molten bath. Typically, the wastes are directed into the reactor onto the top of the molten bath therein. However, some waste components, such as liquid components, often volatilize and are discharged from the reactor before they can be decomposed in the presence of the molten bath.
Other known methods for combining hazardous waste with molten bath include, for example, submerged injection of the waste through tuyeres. However, submerged injection generally can not be extended to liquid wastes because most such liquids have a nucleation temperature which is substantially lower than that of the molten metal bath into which they are injected. Direct contact between liquid wastes and molten baths into which they are injected typically causes instantaneous volatilization of the liquid and consequent violent, or explosive, destruction of the molten bath, thereby causing a safety hazard for those operating such reactor systems.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus for submerged injection of liquids into molten baths which overcome or minimize the above-mentioned problems.